Before fans start lining up in a vacant field near Stoney Creek to scope out their parking spaces for a potentially new stadium for the Golden Horseshoe Bills, everyone take a deep breath and have a reality check.

First off, before puncturing holes in the idea of Buffalo developer Rocco Termini that a permanent NFL facility for the Bills could one day sprout up in Hamilton, let’s have some perspective here.

This is not an attempt to slag the fine citizens of Steeltown, some of the hardest working folks you’ll find anywhere and arguably the loudest, most loyal football fans in this country.

Instead, this is an attempt to separate fact from fiction by analyzing Termini’s idea, which he unleashed during an early morning interview on Buffalo TV station WGRZ Tuesday.

Termini claimed the Buffalo area will lose the Bills within 10 years because western New York does not have enough corporate headquarters to afford buying all the private suites and luxury boxes that has become a staple revenue source of the NFL.

Specifically identifying Hamilton as a viable alternative for a new venue, Termini feels such a location would elicit corporate financial support from the thriving business community in the Greater Toronto Area. At the same time, the drive for Bills fans in western New York would be much more convenient than continuing up the QEW to the Big Smoke.

With the publicity concerning Termini’s comments ballooning as the day progressed, the view from Buffalo was perhaps best summed up by a tweet from highly respected Buffalo News sports reporter/columnist Mike Harrington.

“Why exactly does anyone even think what Termini says about the #Bills is news? He’s a nobody on the subject. Cheap grab for web hits,” Harrington tweeted.

Termini thinks “fast lanes” could be created for those spectators travelling across the border to Hamilton for games, perhaps with discounted fees as they commute between the United States and Canada.

Question: If that concept is so feasible, where are the proliferation of these co-called “fast lanes” right now for the estimated 20,000 Canadians who migrate to Ralph Wilson Stadium for Bills games right now? And no, NEXUS passes don’t count, since only a handful of Bills supporters from the Great White North have them.

Anyone who has regularly snaked along the Peace Bridge on a Sunday morning en route to The Ralph will verify that.

Termini used the examples of the New York Jets, New York Giants and New England Patriots as teams with venues outside the cities they represent. The Jets and Giants play about 15 kilometres outside of Manhattan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while the Pats’ Gillette Stadium is about 65 kilometres south of Boston.

Here’s the difference between those venues and the one proposed for Hamilton.

Those stadia are in different counties.

Hamilton is in a different country.

Then there is the matter of the CFL.

While there are those who figure the two leagues could co-exist in a major urban centre such as Toronto, Hamilton has always been considered a CFL staple with deep-seeded roots in the Canadian game. In fact, Mr. Termini may not be aware of this but Hamilton’s mayor, Bob Bratina, was the former play-by-play voice of the Ti-Cats and Argos, broadcasting gigs that took up 20 years of his life.

As such, it should come as no surprise that Mayor Bratina, having been made aware of Termini’s intentions, contacted the developer on Tuesday morning. During the ensuing conversation, he reportedly informed Termini that there would be “impediments” to his idea — most notably the CFL.

And when it comes to three-down vs. four-down football, the mayor was quite clear as to where his allegiances lie.

“I’ll do anything in my power to ensure that Canadian football and the Ticats flourish,” Bratina told CBC Hamilton, adding that Termini’s concept was a “blue-sky proposition.”

Bratina added that a new facility would be needed to house the Bills, since the soon-to-be-build Pan Am Games stadium, the future home of the Ti-Cats, would not have the capacity to meet NFL standards.

In the end, there do not appear to be any blue prints from Termini. Nor does there seem to be anything on paper.

Instead, he said he was just “floating” the idea.

“Floating?” Given the mixture of facts involved coupled with Bratina’s comments, it seems more like Termini’s concept is “sinking.”

Right to the bottom of Hamilton harbour.

EXTRA POINTS

Giants star receiver Victor Cruz told New York radio station WFAN on Tuesday that he hopes to have a new deal soon. Cruz earns $577,000 US this season, a miniscule amount for such a productive player ... Running back Rashard Mendenhall (Achilles) could be back in the Steelers lineup this weekend versus Washington. Safety Troy Polamalu, however, has been ruled out ... NFL owners have approved the Packers’ request for $58 million to help renovate Lambeau Field, It’s part of an NFL stadium construction program that was included in the league’s new CBA.

STADIUM GROUP VOWS TO 'CHANGE' BUFFALO

On the day developer Rocco Termini was floating his far-fetched idea of making Hamilton the new gameday home of the Bills, another group was offering a more viable solution that would keep the team in the Buffalo area.

On Tuesday, Nicholas Stracick. CEO and president of the Greater Buffalo Sports and Entertainment Complex, unveiled to Buffalo city council a proposal for a $1.4 billion waterfront sports and entertainment facility that would include a 70,000-plus-seat, retractable-roofed stadium.

Stracick said the complex, which would include the new home of the Bills, would be a huge boost to the city’s image.

“Buffalo’s been backward the last 50 years. It’s gone nowhere,” Stracick told the Associated Press. “This stadium is going to change the city of Buffalo.”

The company already has reportedly shelled out $1 million to hire HKS Design to design a site plan. That’s the same architectural firm that produced Cowboys Stadium, otherwise known as Jerry World.

In a Maple Leafs dressing room too
often stuffed with inflated egos,
personal agendas and a greater concern
for personal stats rather than the
overall standings, the arrivals of
Mike Babcock and, now, Lou Lamoriello,
are a sobering reality check for all
concerned.